Blessed, Planted, Unbothered and Fruitful

“But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.”
Jeremiah 17:7-8 NLT

Sitting with the Lord and meditating on this verse. Many years ago, a sweet lady named Ms. Allison, quoted this verse over my life. We were with a group of women in a discipleship program. She was a mighty prayer warrior who was new to the group. She said that she’d prayed for each woman in the group for the Lord to direct her to a verse of scripture that spoke to our walk with the Lord and this is the verse she read for me. I’ve kept this verse close to my heart ever since then. It was both touching and telling about the course of my life. Touching because she obviously saw something in me that I had not fully grasped myself. Telling because those seasons of drought, what I call difficult seasons, have certainly caused greater dependency on the Lord who never lets go of my hand. Holy Spirit speaking to my heart that the drought, difficult times, are not the focus here. Blessed it says. Planted it says. Unbothered it says. Fruitful it says. That’s the point!

Looking over last year, yes I went through some especially hard moments, but when I think back over the year in fact, my whole life…What stands out are the blessings, the strong foundation, the growth of my personal relationship with the Lord, the opened doors, the offenses that rolled off my back and most importantly my Friend who has stuck to me like glue through everything. My Friend who gets me and who I never have to pretend or hide anything from. My Friend who sees good and promising potential in me. My Friend who nonjudgementally walks with me through my hurts and hang ups. My Friend who keeps me upright when I would’ve fallen or fainted. My Friend who holds tightly to my hand even when my grasp is weakened by life’s letdowns. My Friend, my Friend, my Friend! I’m walking into 2024 holding tighter, high step praising, on a strong foundation, hand in hand with my Friend!

“What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!”

Just sharing my New Year Eve’s Eve musings in hopes that through the difficult times, we will remain blessed, planted, unbothered and fruitful for year 2024.

Author/Faithblogger Michele Bryant Powell, MS, CRC
“15 Minutes of Unpacking Our Grief”
Amazon, B&N, Walmart, etc.

GreieftalkwithMichele FB page